Keeping the postal service up & running, one stamp at a time. Usually silly, sometimes cranky, occasionally a mix of the two.

“I Can’t Believe This Postcard Was Actually Produced!” Received from China, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, & the U.S.

I love those top two cards. Donald & Mickey are gracing my first Japanese New Year postcard received this season! I think the custom of nengajo is a great one: I love receiving those cards, and I wish the practice would migrate to the U.S. This card came to me from, yes, Japan, thanks to a Postcrossing Forum Disney card tag.

The beautiful sea turtle came to me from somewhere in the U.S., due to a marine life & sea creatures tag. The sender tells me that the turtle…

“…reminds me of my trip to South Padre Island, Texas when I was a biology grad student. There is a sea turtle rescue center there that we toured. Amazing to see what great work they did, and the turtles that were being rehabilitated for release. I’d like to go back one day to see how much it’s changed.”

If you think that lighthouse photo is just horrible, let me tell you: it’s much worse-looking in person. It came to me from Providence, Rhode Island, thanks to a swap-bot trade specifically for ugly postcards, and the sender says:

“I can’t believe this p/c was actually produced! Terrible picture!”

Well, yes.

The other lighthouse is a marked improvement. It came to me from a brand-new Postcrosser in Saratov, Russia, and it took a long 56 days to find me! I’m thinking the Saratov mail must be delivered via molasses, because I received that card on October 5, and the sender has had 3 more of their cards delivered–but has yet to receive a single card herself! She needs to put some work into her profile: as of right now, there is not a single word on it. Speaking of words, here’s what she wrote on the postcard she sent me:

“One learns people through the heart, not the eyes or the intellect.” –Mark Twain (…and then some stuff in Russian… and then) “Best Wishes from Russia.”

The next card, the illustration of a woman illustrating, is also a Postcrossing incoming, this time from someone in southeastern China. Her writing is very pretty, but I couldn’t really quite understand much more than that she was experiencing summery weather, and she is a fan of the great writer Haruki Murakami. I love his stuff, too! Have you read any of it?

The berries are another Postcrossing card, this one from Saint Petersburg, Russia. The sender tells me she likes “nature, travels, sea, good books, and music. Also I love photography.”

Finally, yet another Postcrossing card, this one from Malaysia. It kinda makes me cry that the postcard does not depict beautiful Malaysian food, flowers, scenery, or anything Malaysian. At least the stamps helped!

Stamp & postmark time: I love the Malaysian flowers, the American anglerfish, and the Japanese Donald Duck!